The Mummy Returns
*''This is a Real World article'' The Mummy Returns is a 2001-adventure film produced by Universal Pictures, and the second installment of the studios’ remake Mummy trilogy. Starring the returning cast of Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, John Hannah and Oded Fehr, and introducing Freddie Boath, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje, the film was an even bigger financial hit than The Mummy (1999 film). However, both the critic and fan reaction were considerably more negative, with many criticizing inferior special effects, credibility-stretching plot holes and numerous deus ex machina. Tagline: Adventure is Reborn... Plot: The film starts with a prologue narrated by Ardeth Bay, which introduces the audience to the Scorpion King, a fearsome warrior who led a vicious campaign to conquer Ancient Egypt. He and his armies march to the Capitol City Thebes and, after an epic battle are defeated and driven into the desert of Ahm Shere. The Scorpion King soon finds himself the last living member of his army, all the others having died from the scorching heat. Near death, the warrior called out to the god Anubis, offering his soul and servitude in return for command of Anubis’ invincible Army to defeat his enemies. The deity accepted, creating a gigantic Oasis in the middle of the desert that the Scorpion King stood, providing shade to save his life. The warrior then lead the Army of Anubis in a successful raid of Thebes, but was then betrayed by the Egyptian god, who removed the Scorpion King’s soul and forced him to become his slave for all time. The Army of Anubis was sent into a deep sleep, to only be awaken when the Scorpion King returned to try and conquer Earth once again… We then move forward to the year 1933 AD. Richard (Rick) O’Connell and Evelyn (Evey) Carnahan have been married eight years, and have a son named Alex. Together they go on archeological digs and adventures, and one day, while studying a Thebes temple, come across a legendary artifact: The Bracelet of Anubis. This was, according to myth, once the trademark article of clothing of the Scorpion King, and is told to have magical powers. The two are unaware that they are being watched by a trio of mercenaries hired to kill the O’Connell’s and steal the Bracelet. After returning to their London home, Rick and Evey and Alex are confronted by a party of cultists who worship the cursed mummy Imhotep, who the O’Connell’s had previously encountered in the first film. Kidnapping Evelyn and stealing away a chest that they think holds the Bracelet, the red-turbaned group head to the British Museum and use the Book of the Dead to reawaken Imhotep. Rick and Ardeth Bay, the wise Medjai chieftain, succeed in rescuing Evelyn, but are too late to save young Alex, whom Imhotep’s followers abduct. It turns out that the boy is wearing the Bracelet of Anubis after having put it on with curiosity. It is now permanently latched to his wrist until Alex reaches the Golden Pyramid that rests in the middle of the Oasis of Ahm Shere. Needing the Bracelet to guide them to the Oasis so that Imhotep may slay the reawakened Scorpion King and steal command of the undefeatable Army of Anubis, the cultists had no choice but to kidnap Alex. A distraught Rick and Evelyn, with the help of Ardeth Bay and accompanied by Evey’s bumbling brother Jonathan, enlist O’Connell’s old friend Izzy and a dirigible to help rescue their son, following Imhotep’s party while the Bracelet guides the cultists to the secret location of Ahm Shere. Arriving at the primordial jungle of the Oasis, Rick succeeds in saving his son from the murderous cult thug Lock-Naw, who is also an old enemy of Ardeth Bay (perhaps he is a former, renegade Medjai?). Reaching the Gold Pyramid, Alex is finally free of the Bracelet’s grip on his wrist. Just then Imhotep’s lover, Ank-su-namun, stabs Evelyn, who soon dies from her fatal injury. Bitter with revenge, Rick O’Connell then engages Imhotep in a fight just as the Scorpion King awakens and the Army of Anubis arises in the desert right outside the Oasis. The combined forces of the Medjai, lead by Ardeth Bay, meet the army of jackal-warriors in battle, while inside the Pyramid Rick is attacked by the monstrous, giant-scorpion-creature Scorpion King, who has been tricked by a devious Imhotep into thinking O’Connell is the one who wishes to challenge him. Just then, Alex, who reads from the Book of the Dead, miraculously resurrects his mother Evelyn, who then engages Ank-su-namun in a duel. Here it is revealed that Evey is actually the reincarnated Egyptian princess Nefertiri, daughter of King Seti I. Back in the battle chamber, Rick O’Connell manages to discover a painting depicting a destined soldier (him) using a golden spear to kill the Scorpion King. He accepts his purpose, and finds the said Spear in the possession of Evey’s brother Jonathan. To Imhotep’s despair, Rick stabs the Scorpion King, killing him while commanding the Army of Anubis to return to the Underworld. Imhotep is killed when he willingly commits suicide after a betrayal by his beloved Ank-su-namun, falling into a vast crack in the earth leading to Hell. The O’Connell’s escape the Pyramid in Izzy’s dirigible just as the Oasis, along with the Pyramid, is swallowed up by the desert, disappearing forever. Sharing a loving kiss while Jonathan and Alex snort with annoyance, Rick and his wife then set off home in the dirigible as Jonathan fights with Izzy over a massive diamond he stole from atop the Pyramid… Appearances: Cast: * Brendan Fraser * Rachel Weisz * Arnold Vosloo * John Hannah * Oded Fehr * Patricia Velasquez Characters: * Richard O'Connell * Evelyn O'Connell * Jonathan Carnahan * Imhotep * Ardeth Bay * Ank-su-namun Artifacts: * Bracelet of Anubis * Book of the Dead * Book of Amun Ra * Spear of Osiris Locations: Egypt: * Hamunaptura * Thebes * Karnak * Abu Simbel * Giza Other: * Ahm Shere Overview: This was the second film in Universal’s revisionist Mummy trilogy. It was conceived the very morning after The Mummy’s premier, after the record-breaking gross impressed both Sommers and Universal. Stars Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz and Arnold Vosloo returned to reprise their roles, and newcomers Freddie Boath and Dwayne Johnson were introduced into the series as two crucial characters, Alex O’Connell and the Scorpion King. Like the first film, there are occasional in-jokes poking fun at the adventure-film-clichés, with Rick O’Connell responding to every time Evey tells him of expeditions disappearing in pursuit of Ahm Shere, “that’s always the story…” The Mummy Returns featured a larger-scaled, epic plot than its predecessor. The film also doubled as a teaser for the rising star of wrestling celebrity Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who would go on to star in a spin-off Scorpion King film. Both Ardeth Bay and Imhotep were given more time to flesh out and expand on their characters. Weisz’ character Evelyn (Evey) O’Connell received a drastic makeover from her original take as a goofy, inexperienced and naïve librarian, becoming a strong-willed and courageous woman with a secret past never before touched upon in the first film. Also, there is a subplot of Rick discovering his destiny as a Medjai, due to him having been given a sacred tattoo during childhood. Reflecting the bigger scope and ambitious story line of the film, The Mummy Returns ended up out-grossing the former film. Reception: Critics: Critical reaction was mostly negative or mixed. Critic Roger Ebert, who had admittedly enjoyed the gee-whiz goofy fun of the first film, was disappointed to see the sequel focus more on visual effects and action, comparing the movie to, “yourself on a roller coaster for two hours. After the first 10 minutes, the thrills subside.” He also pointed out numerous continuity errors and goofs. In the final battle against the Army of Anubis, there is not one dead man or horse or any kind of casualties at all, and Rick O’Connell actually outruns the sunrise (a logically and scientifically impossible feat) while racing for the Golden Pyramid with his son Alex. The movie currently has a “rotten” score on the film aggregation web-site Rotten Tomatoes.com. Audiences: Similar reaction came from fans of the first film, although The Mummy Returns certainly had its own supporters. Many were annoyed at the increasingly over-the-top style that the series was heading into, and the visual effects work was both criticized and praised; some called it an improvement over the first movie while others bemoaned the effects as “cartoon-ish”, unrealistic and credibility-stretching. However, there was general tolerance and support for the acting by Brendan Fraser, Oded Fehr, Arnold Vosloo and Rachel Weisz. To this day, the fan consensus on this film continues to be mixed, and recently the long-delayed production of the third Mummy film has led some to give Returns a more forgiving, bias-less re-evaluation. References to The Mummy (1999 film) and Other Films: The Mummy (1999 film): * The scene where Alex rides down a large pillar, which then sparks a dominoes effect with other pillars, is almost exactly identical to a similar scene in The Mummy where Alex’s mother, Evelyn, accidentally does the same with dozens of bookshelves in a Cairo library. * Imhotep reprises his magical ability to generate a massive surge (sand in the first film, water in the second) with which to destroy O’Connell’s rescue party flying in some kind of craft, manipulating a facial likeness of himself in the wall of sand/water. * When Rick and Evey discover the chest containing the Bracelet of Anubis, Evelyn begins to fiddle with it and try to open it. Rick says “Are you sure you should be playing around with that thing?” to which Evey replies, “It’s only a chest, no harm ever came from opening a chest,” to which Rick snorts, “Yeah, like ‘no harm ever came from reading a book,’ remember how that one turned out?” This is a direct referential paraphrase of a similar exchange in The Mummy concerning the Book of the Dead. * There is a flashback scene in the film which reveals, through spliced footage from the original movie and clever editing, that Nefertiri, Evelyn’s past life, witnessed the affair between Imhotep and Ank-su-namun and the murder of King Seti I shown at the beginning of The Mummy. * During a discussion inside a compartment of a locomotive train, the three hired guns show that they have recovered the chest originally containing the Book of the Dead. The leader, Red, then say ominously, “but I heard those Yanks that went up and found the chest eight years ago all died. Terrible deaths they were…” This is referencing the American party of treasure seekers consisting of Mr. Henderson, Burns, Daniels and an Egyptologist that were killed by Imhotep in the first film. * When Imhotep’s encased mummy is found in the buried remains of Hamunaptra, Meela Nais, the reincarnation of Ank-su-namun, waves her hand over the face of the resting creature within. This is foreshadowing of her true “past history,” and this gesture appears to be an Ancient Egyptian expression of love, as introduced in the first film The Mummy. Other: * There is a brief moment when a Pygmy Mummy rides down a log and waves his arm, hollaring happily. This is a reference to Dr. Strangelove. * In this very same scene, the log bridge which explodes and falls down a canyon is a direct visual homage to King Kong. * The color scheme and clothing of Imhotep’s cult servants is almost exactly identical to what the evil Thuggee cult wore in the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. * There is a very quick visual nod to Indiana Jones, the primary inspiration for the style and spirit of the Mummy remake films, in a scene where Rick and Evelyn return to their London home from Egypt. As Evey tries to convince her husband to go on another trip, Rick is carrying their travel bags…and is also wearing a fedora. * The Scorpion King appears in the climax as a hybrid man-scorpion monstrosity. This is an obvious reference and tribute to the stop-motion-animated monsters and creatures that populated the famous films of special effects icon Ray Harryhausen. Legacy: The Mummy Returns introduced the Scorpion King character that would have his own feature film in 2002, and a prequel, entitled The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian, has just been announced. This sequel was followed by The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. However, the third film switches to a new culture and historical background: Post-World War II China, since the Egyptian story lines concerning Imhotep, Ardeth Bay and Ank-su-namun are finished. The mummy is now a reanimated Chinese Emperor with shape shifting powers and mastery of martial arts, played by Jet Li. He tries to revive his invincible Terra Cotta army to conquer China, with the help of a military zealot, General Yang. Alex O’Connell, a character introduced in The Mummy Returns, returned now as a grown-up in Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Brendan Fraser reprises Rick O’Connell, although a new actress, Maria Bello, replaces Rachel Weisz as Evelyn. John Hannah also features in the movie. Trivia: * There is a shot in the film where, in London, Tower Bridge and the dome of St. Paul’s Church and Big Ben are all scrunched-up into one frame. This is geographically anachronistic to the landmarks’ true locations in the city. 1 (film order) 3 (chronological)